Minutes of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee
8 July 2024
Present:
Councillor J.R. Sexton (Chair)
Councillor C. Bateson (Vice-Chair)
Councillors:
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M. Beecher M. Bing Dong J.R. Boughtflower J. Button S.M. Doran |
K.M. Grant R.V. Geach K. Howkins N. Islam M.J. Lee
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S.C. Mooney L. E. Nichols O. Rybinski
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Substitutions: |
Councillor K Rutherford |
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Apologies: |
Councillor H Williams |
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In Attendance: |
Councillors S Beatty, J Caplin |
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78/24 |
Apologies and Substitutes
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Apologies were received from Councillor Williams. Councillor Rutherford attended as his substitute.
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79/24 |
Minutes
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The minutes of the meeting held on 3 June 2024 were agreed as a correct record.
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80/24 |
Disclosures of Interest
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Councillor Sexton and Councillor Mooney declared they were Surrey County Councillors.
Councillor Nichols declared he was on the board for Knowle Green Estates.
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81/24 |
Questions from members of the Public
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There were no questions from members of the public.
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82/24 |
Minutes of Development Sub-Committee
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The Deputy Monitoring Officer provided the following statement regarding the minutes of the Development Sub-Committee held on 20 May 2024:
“At Development Sub-Committee on Monday 20 May 2024, it was reported that ‘The Group Head – Assets advised that this was a very focussed consultation with Ward Councillors and adjacent local residents that would be most affected.’ This statement referred to a meeting that was held in March 2024. The officers have clarified that one ward councillor had been invited to that meeting, but none attended.”
The Committee resolved to agree the minutes of the last Development Sub-Committee meeting held on 20 May 2024 as a correct record.
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83/24 |
Treasury Management Annual Outturn Report 2023/24
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Concerns were raised by the Committee concerning the complexity of the report and it was agreed that the Members Financial Working Group would work with officers to find an agreed solution to ensure that financial reports were easier to understand.
It was requested by Committee that a glossary of financial terms be produced for members to refer to when reading financial reports.
The Committee resolved to note the Treasury Management Outturn position for 2023/2024.
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84/24 |
Local Plan - Resumption of Examination
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The committee was advised that work had been undertaken with the Environment Agency (EA) to reach a statement of common ground following the EA’s concerns around flooding and the access and egress of certain sites. The Group Head of Place, Protection and Prosperity advised the committee that the EA’s concerns would not on their own make the Local Plan unsound but their comments would be considered by the Inspector when reaching a decision as to whether the Council’s Local Plan was sound or not.
It was proposed by Councillor Boughtflower and seconded by Councillor Mooney that any changes to the wording within the policy should be brought back before the committee for them to agree to and not be finalised by the Group Head of Place, Protection and Prosperity in consultation with the Chair and Vice of this committee.
A vote was taken as follows:
For the motion – 7
Against the motion – 9
The motion FELL
The Committee resolved to make the following recommendations to Council:
1. To propose a Main Modification to the Inspector to remove Bridge Street Car Park/Hanover House/Sea Cadet Building and Riverside Surface Car Park as site allocations from the Local Plan;
2. To propose a Main Modification to the Inspector to agree to new policy wording in relation to site allocations at risk from access and egress issues and for such wording to be finalised by the Group Head of Place, Protection and Prosperity in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee;
3. That the Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee write to the Inspector with further proposed Main Modifications (if agreed) in order to progress the Local Plan back to examination.
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85/24 |
Productivity Plan
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The Committee were advised that the deadline for submission of the Productivity Plan Report to the Government was 19 July 2024.
The Deputy Chief Executive advised the committee that further amendments would be made to the report following discussions with the Leader. The amended report would be circulated to committee members by 16 July 2024..
The Committee resolved to agree the submission of the Productivity Plan to DLUHC subject to any further amendments being agreed by the Group Head of Commissioning and Transformation in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of Corporate Policy and Resources Committee.
The meeting was adjourned at 20.30
The meeting resumed at 20.39
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86/24 |
Implementation of Solar Canopies Over the 'Eclipse' Leisure Centre Car Park
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The Committee requested that additional information be included within the follow-up report that was to be brought back to committee in September 2024. This included a cost comparison between the current leisure centre costs and the proposed costs if the Council installed the solar panels and examples of electricity prices to highlight any potential risks if the price of electricity fell.
The Committee queried what funding would be used to facilitate the proposed Solar Canopy if the bid for Community Infrastructure Levy funding was unsuccessful. They were advised that alternative funding streams would need to be considered.
A detailed specification would be written before a full procurement exercise was undertaken to invite companies to submit a tender for the works.
The Committee resolved to agree to support in principle progressing a solar canopy scheme for the ‘Eclipse Leisure Centre’ car park.
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87/24 |
Sunbury Leisure Centre - Swimming Pool Grant
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The Committee resolved to
1. Agree to directly award a contract to Low Carbon Europe to deliver the Sunbury Leisure Centre decarbonisation project funded by Sport England through the Swimming Pool Support Fund;
2. Delegate authority to the Group Head of Corporate Governance to enter into any necessary documentation in connection with the project;
3. Recommend to Council approval of the scheme as a supplementary Capital Estimate for a value of £995,000.
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88/24 |
Waterfront Site - WITHDRAWN
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With the Chair’s approval, this item was withdrawn from the agenda and would be considered at a future meeting.
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89/24 |
Customer Services - Service Plan
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The Committee were advised that this Service Plan was submitted late as a restructure had just been finalised.
Committee members asked that the Service Plan template to be updated to include a section on what had been achieved in the previous year.
Committee solved to note the Customer Services Service Plan.
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90/24 |
Forward Plan
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The Committee resolved to note the contents of the Forward Plan.
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91/24 |
Urgent Item - Retrospective Approval to Include Ashford Cemetery Lodge Refurbishment Works in the Capital Programme
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It was proposed by Councillor Bateson and seconded by Councillor Button to suspend Standing Order 5.1 to continue the meeting beyond three hours.
Councillor Geach left the Chamber at 22.02
The Committee resolved to agree the recommendation as outlined in the report.
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92/24 |
Urgent Actions
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There were no urgent actions.
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93/24 |
Exclusion of Public & Press (Exempt Business)
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94/24 |
New Spelthorne Leisure Centre - Phase 2 Contractor Appointment
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The Committee requested that consideration is given to recycling as much as possible within the old Leisure Centre before it is demolished. The Leader asked the Development Advisor to provide members with a list of what was to be recycled.
Concerns were expressed about the demolition impacting on Knowle Green Nursery that is located next to the old Leisure Centre. The Committee were advised that Collards would have to adhere to Health & Safety Legislation and would be liaising with neighbouring properties and would try to keep demolition works that might directly affect the nursery would be undertaken at weekends.
The Committee were advised that an asbestos survey had been undertaken and that none had been found in the areas they were able to check but due diligence would be taken during the demolition process to ensure that care is taken when dealing with areas that had not previously been accessible.
The Development Advisor confirmed that the demolition of the old Leisure Centre did not have to be considered by the Planning Committee.
The Committee resolved to
1. Approve the appointment of the preferred bidder to undertake works associated in providing a new and extended car park for the new Spelthorne Leisure Centre in accordance with the approved planning permission; and
2. Delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Group Head of Corporate Governance and the Leader to finalise all legal and contractual terms for their appointment.
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95/24 |
Annual Commercial Property Report for Financial Year 2023/2024
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The Committee resolved to approve the Annual Commercial Property Report for the year ending 31 March 2024 subject to the inclusion of comments from the Commercial Assets Sub-Committee, and approved publication on the Council’s website.
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96/24 |
Corporate Policy and Resources Chair's Updates
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There were no updates provided at this meeting.